Former Conservative MP and writer Jeffrey Archer has accused Bollywood film producers of stealing storylines from his novels 'without so much as a by-your-leave'.

The author remains immensely popular in India, where his novels are regularly best-sellers, but made several references to problems he had with its film industry in a new interview with an Indian news website.

The 74-year-old, who spent two years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice in the early 2000s, named two films that he claimed were ripped off from his novels.

Lord Archer (pictured) claims several of his stories have been ripped off by Bollywood filmmakers

When asked by the interviewer from DNA if he agreed that his books could be adapted into Hollywood thrillers, he replied: 'Well forget Hollywood, just look at your Bollywood! These bunch of thieves have stolen several of my books without so much as a "by-your-leave".'

He cited the 2011 romantic comedy film Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl - about three women uniting to enact revenge against a man who has conned them - as similar to his novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.

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The original book, published in 1976, follows the character Harvey Metcalfe, who cheats four men out of stocks before they collaborate to steal the money back.

Lord Archer also noted similarities between his 1979 novel Kane and Abel and the Bollywood film released in 1987 called Khudgarz. Both feature storylines about feuding men.

He cited the 2011 romantic comedy film Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl (pictured) - about three women uniting to enact revenge against a man who has conned them - as similar to his novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less

He went on to say there were 'several other' films which had taken his plot lines, and stated he is currently looking for Bollywood film companies interested in buying production rights for the first book in his Clifton Chronicles series, called Only Time Will Tell.

He added: 'And that does not mean some second rate Bollywood idiot who goes around saying he’s a Bollywood star producer and then he is not! Such has been my Indian experience many times.'

Meanwhile, Lord Archer has revealed that he has been left impotent by surgery he underwent to treat prostate cancer.

His candid admission, in an exclusive interview in the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, was welcomed by health campaigners as a courageous boost for other men suffering the condition.

He said: ‘You can still get the feeling, you can still get the urge, but you can’t do anything about it. Can’t do a thing.

‘You live with it, like anything else. Get on with it. Not much I can do about it.’

The best-selling novelist and Tory peer was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, after his wife Mary persuaded him to undergo a thorough medical check-up following a routine blood test which revealed he had indicators of prostate cancer.

Lord Archer, 74, had been warned of the dangers before he had the operation at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, but he chose to risk the potential impact on his sex life because it improved his chances of survival.